Isn'T It A Bit Strange? Poem by Amrit Rathi

Isn'T It A Bit Strange?

Rating: 4.8


I go for a walk in the morning
with my friend, the psychiatrist,
Charles Heim.
About some of his cases,
he tells me at times.

“One day a lady came
and told me her story, ” he said,
“of continuous mistreatment
by her husband:
he would come drunk and beat her.
The poor woman! ”
I thought, but then she revealed:
she had already divorced him twice.
“Why do you go back to him? ”
I asked her, surprised.
“Oh! He calls me very lovingly;
I feel, he seems to have changed! ”
she said.

“Later I discovered a peculiar thing:
she endures all the mistreatment,
even often seeks it out
for the pleasure of
talking about.
Isn’t it a peculiar pleasure?
As she is happy that he is wrong; she is right:
it’s a pleasure of self-righteous fight! ”

“Isn’t it a bit strange? ” he asked.
“It’s quite common, ” but I find,
“Most of us never seem to mind
to win this battle of ‘I’m right, you’re wrong’
to dent our relationships, marriage, love,
business, or jobs.
Maybe we are either not aware or are simply snobs!
Though we too are thus constantly beaten,
yet this game we won’t give in.”

The other day he was talking about another lady.
She goes to her church and office,
But never socializes with anybody.
If anyone tries to talk to her,
she makes an excuse and goes away.
s a TV set but no phone, and stays
alone, not to be disturbed in any way.
Perhaps, the load of the past,
and broken dreams and trust
stopped her forever
from taking a fresh look at the world.
Is she a walking corpse that survives?
No change, no growth, no pain—
in living, she forever dies.

“Isn’t it a bit strange? ” he asked.

“It’s very common, ” I declared,
“How many of us everyday
do not carry the ghosts of our past
or impose on ourselves their pain,
not bothered if that indefinitely last?
How many of us trust the world
and meet people with open hearts
unlike that lady?
And most of us are not even aware:
that’s the tragedy! ”

The essence of life is
change, growth, and decay,
that is the thrill, trust and let go.
But we prefer to stay
in our comfort zones,
and as is the case,
we are avoiding the very life,
waiting out there to be embraced.

Though most of us behave,
more or less to some degree,
like these two ladies,
how rarely is it true
that we are able to see.

Copyright © reserved by the author

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Joseph Poewhit 06 June 2010

Psych's are doing well in todays world.

0 0 Reply
Hans Vr 06 June 2010

Dear Amrit, Thanks for this other eye-opener. You are right. How many times do we play the blame game, the victim or the confrontation just for winning, just for our ego. And indeed on many other occasions we just play aloof, 'let the other find us out' but most of the time we are only suffering in our own aloofness. The games of the ego have no winners. You really manage to touch deep human truths, you bring them to the surface of our mind and I feel you are touching and making a difference in the life of your readers. Thanks

0 0 Reply
Mathew Brady 07 June 2010

Amrit, you touch the root! Your illustrations speak of the truth of human relationships which we make foolishly complicated because of our egoistical attitude and thus cause constant pain for ourselves. I think we need to come out of these life consuming habits, and understand clearly where are our faults. Only then the remedy is possible. A great piece of art, forcefully articulating the problems. I rate 9/10. Thanks.

0 0 Reply
Michelle Al G 08 June 2010

WOW you put your heart and mind into it lot of pholosiphy there like it :)

0 0 Reply
Adeline Foster 18 December 2011

Hey, Joseph said it well: Psych's are doing well in todays world. Isn't it strange that strange becomes norm when we can write about it? Have you read mine - We the Unencumbered - Adeline

0 0 Reply
Brandon Owens 19 June 2010

Your eyes are open to the world, and your mind to the universe. In you is a divine spark of genius. Or should I say a simple love? You help us to notice that we shouldn't stop growing, and we should open our minds and our eyes.

0 0 Reply
Sreekala Sukumaran 19 June 2010

It is very true can see such people suffering around us very sad it is still on hope they return back but their fate is the same..excellent work great thought lovely write...thanks for sharing Amrit...10+++

0 0 Reply
Noel Horlanda 13 June 2010

This is a great piece in free verse talking about relationships' malady which actually happens in reality. There are relationships that endures for period of time, it also carries sacrifices and that is because there is love behind.

0 0 Reply
Seema Chowdhury 12 June 2010

excellent, lovely wordings and thoughts, thanks for sharing.

0 0 Reply
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